Tag Archives: Prisons

Governor Ugwuanyi Promises Better Welfare Of Inmates In Enugu

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Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has assured the inmates in the state of his resolve to attend to their welfare.

Speaking during his 53rd birthday celebration at the Enugu Maximum Prisons, Governor Ugwuanyi said he has set aside funds and necessary logistics to lawyers and Civil Society Organisations to secure the prompt release of inmates.

“Having taken notice of the over-crowding or congestion in the prisons, especially the ever-growing population of inmates that are awaiting trials, we have set aside funds and we are providing necessary logistics to lawyers and civil society organisations to secure the prompt release of inmates where legally possible.

“I have listened to the demands of the Comptroller of the Enugu Prison Command, I want to assure and reassure you that very soon, government will attend to some of those issues,” he said.

In her address, the Enugu State Comptroller of Prisons, Mrs Ukwuori Ndukwe Kalu, commended the Governor for the attention the command has received since inception of his administration.

“I have been following with keen interest your assistance to prison inmates since my arrival in the state, ranging from prompt intervention during the Nsukka jail break incident in 2016, renovation at the Enugu Prison, release of funds for procurement of drugs for inmates and granting of pardon to seven deserving inmates among others,” she said.

The Prisons Comptroller noted that the level of sophistication of inmates would require proactive measures to avoid incidents like jail breaks and riot in the prisons.

“To be proactive, we need five escort vehicles to convey armed squad personnel to and from courts in Enugu, three eighteen-seater buses with gadgets for effective communication to convey suspects and inmates to courts across Nsukka, Oji River and Enugu Prison in the State Command,” she said.

Mrs Kalu also called the governor’s attention to the sewage challenges they face in the facilities, especially in Nsukka.

In his response, Governor Ugwuanyi reiterated his commitment to assisting the command in the area of welfare.

“We have taken note of sewage and other allied challenges confronting these prisons and I have resolved to take necessary measures and we will address them adequately and satisfactorily,” he said.

 

Source: Channels TV

President Donald Trump reverses Obama ban on private prisons

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President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday reinstated the use of private prisons for federal inmates, saying commercial prison operators are needed for the correctional system’s “future needs.”

Trump’s new attorney general, Jeff Sessions, officially rescinded the Barack Obama administration’s move last August to phase out the management of prisons by private companies, which Obama’s justice department had said proved to be inadequate, more dangerous and not cheaper than government-run prisons.

Sessions said in an order that the move last year had reversed a longstanding policy at the Federal Bureau of Prisons to have private companies involved, “and impaired the bureau’s ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system.”

The Trump government has promised a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration, suggesting the prisons bureau could require greater holding capacity in a short time.

The 13 prisons are run by three companies: CoreCivic (known until recently as Corrections Corporation of America), GEO Group and Management and Training Corporation.

The announcement gave a strong after-hours boost to the stock of the two listed firms. Core Civic jumped 3.2 percent, while GEO Group added 1.0 percent.

The move was expected and both companies’ stocks had already risen sharply after Trump’s election victory on November 8.

 

Source: The Guardian

72% of inmates in Nigerian prisons are awaiting trials. – NBS

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According to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 72.53% of inmates in prisons across the country are not sentenced.

The prison report released January 19, 2017, by the NBS gives an overview of detainees awaiting sentencing and overall prison population by state and year from 2011 to 2015.

Lagos state, the commercial and entertainment nerve centre of Nigeria, had the highest number of detainees awaiting sentencing.

The state recorded 5,603 un-sentenced detainees out of a prison population of 6,522, followed by Rivers and Edo states with 3,625 and 2,434 un-sentenced detainees.

Yobe and Borno states, on the other hand, had 163 and 216 un-sentenced detainees respectively, representing the least in the country.

Both states have a total prison population of 562 and 603 respectively.

Out of the 36 states, Lagos had the highest prison population in the country with 6,522 inmates, followed by Kano and Rivers states with populations of 4,082 and 4,054 respectively.

The total prison population in the country for 2015 was 62,260 as against 56, 059 in 2014.

The increase in prison population in 2015 represents about 11.06% growth from the previous year.

The problem of prison congestion in Nigeria is largely fueled by the high number of people awaiting trial.

No drugs, mattresses, toiletries in Kaduna prison – official

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The deputy controller of Prisons, Ahmed Usman, has expressed sadness over the plight of inmates of Kaduna Prison.

Chief superintendent of Prisons, Fatumbi Sunday, who received Senator Shehu Sani, on behalf the deputy controller, said the prison was in dare needs of drugs, mats, mattresses, toiletries and disinfectants.

He stressed the need for inmates to be properly cared for as the less privileged of the society.

Mr. Fatumbi lamented the congested state of the prison, said Kaduna Convicts Prison which was initially built for 547 inmates, presently houses 1,283.

“Despite the frantic efforts of the government towards ensuring good treatment of offenders in the prison, we still have many challenges ranging from drugs to mats and mattress, toiletries and disinfectants.

“As at today we open out 1,283 while the prison was actually built to lock up 547 inmates. These inmates are human beings who eventually became less privileged whereby their freedom has been ceased and they need special care,” he said.

Responding, Sen. Shehu Sani said, “I am here first of all as a Senator representing the zone where this prison is located. Secondly, I am here as someone who has been here as a political prisoner during the military era.

“We have a duty as a democratic government to intervene and support the prisons. For those of you that have been following my activities on the floor of the Senate, you will testify that I have consistently raised issues about the deplorable state of Nigerian prisons.”

The Nigerian Prisons need more funding and all the support it needs to make our prisons proper Correctional Centres where inmates’ lives can be reformed before they serve out their terms and return into the society as good and responsible citizens.

“And as a political prisoner, I assure you that I shall continue to champion the cause of the Nigerian Prison and not only to champion the cause of the prison but to do everything humanly possible to support you to make this place conducive for human habitation towards fulfilling the purpose of its existence.

“I have heard your request and I assure you that before next Saturday, we shall address the problems you have raised here and now.

Senator Shehu Sani observed that the Nigerian Prisons have not witnessed any major change from what it was during the colonial rule adding that the welfare both the inmates and staff have not been properly taken care of, while noting that the prisons have not been fully funded.

“The prison service has not seriously changed from what was obtainable in the era of the colonial masters in the sense that the welfare both the inmates and staff of the Nigerian Prisons have not been properly taken care of and the prisons have not been fully funded. We will ensure that through legislation necessary funding will be provided for the resuscitation of the prisons as well as to provide an after prison terms care for the inmates.

“Right now, I am working on Bill that will make it a transition period for inmates so that after serving their prison terms, they can be taken over by institutions rendering to society the kind of skills these inmates might have acquired during their term. This will make their lives useful to the society they are rejoining.

The legislator also observed that all recommendations made by over 15 presidential committees set up to examine the myriad problems in the Nigerian prisons in the last 30 years were never implemented by successive governments but neglected.

“What I am simply saying is that these recommendations have not translated into implementation. So, we will do everything possible within our mandate as legislators to assist the prisons and for a prison like this that has the history of detaining very high profile political prisoners like Prof Wole Soyinka and others like Dr. Beko Ransom Kuti.

“I want to conclude by saying that my visit here today is mainly to see one of friends who is here, Dr. John Danfulani who is here as an awaiting trial. When I was once in detention in 1993, John Danfulani visited me and so today, I also have the honour to visit him. I am dedicating this visit to Dr. John Danfulani as a political prisoner. Whatever we shall later deliver is done in his honour,” he said.

Wares seized from street traders will go to prisons inmates — Okorocha.

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Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has unveiled the next step of his government in banning street trading in the state, saying that henceforth, seized items from anyone trading along the streets will be used to take care of prisons inmates of the state.

Okorocha revealed this yesterday in Owerri, in a release he issued to newsmen through his Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo.

According to the release, the delay in enforcing the street-trading ban was just to demonstrate the meekness of his government, saying no further warning should be expected to that effect but that actions will ensure that the streets are kept clean.

“So, those involved in street trading should go to relief market or Egbada market to have shops to avoid regretting because when government begins to enforce the directive, goods or wares seized from those selling on the streets will be donated to the prisons and motherless babies homes.”

The release also stated that, the government has not declined in its proposed plan on the issue of markets in the state, adding that the next thing would be to take action.

FEC approves 320 vehicles worth N3.5bn for prisons

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The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N3.5 billion for the purchase of 320 operational vehicles to promptly convey inmates to courts as part of measures to decongest prisons in the country.

Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau (retd), who disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, said the population of prisoners is 65,000 out of which 70 per cent is awaiting trial due to lack of utility vehicles to convey inmates to court.

He said the vehicles would be sourced from local manufacturers, assemblers and vendors within the country in line with government policy to promote made-in-Nigeria goods and create employment opportunities for the youths.

He said: “In our efforts to strengthen criminal justice system and to also contribute towards decongesting the system, we presented a memo for the procurement of 320 operational vehicles for the prison service at the cost of N3.5 billion.

“This procurement is from local manufacturers, assemblers and vendors within Nigeria and the effort is to follow through government’s policy to ensure that most of the procurement of the equipment and such vehicles are done locally. That will also provide opportunity for job creation and things like that.

“But for the prison system in particular, we are making efforts in a way you know the prisons being one of the legs of the criminal justice system, the others being the police and the judiciary, is to see how best we improve in terms of conveying prison inmates to courts in particular so that we do not jeopardise their chances of their getting justice.

“So, we are glad that council approved this procurement. And along the line we want also to ensure that we provide for maintenance to ensure that the vehicles are well maintained and that there used for purpose there are meant to be used.

“The prison population as at today stands at about 65,000 prisoners; out of this about 70 per cent are awaiting trial. And part of the problem is lack of logistics, because there are 5,022 courts that on daily basis we have to convey prisoners to attend to their cases.”

FG Approves N3.5bn for the Purchase of Cars to Aid Prisons Decongestion

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The Federal Government at its Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday approved the sum of N3.5 billion to purchase 320 made-in-Nigeria vehicles to aid prisons decongestion across the country.

According to a memo presented to the council members by the  Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahaman Dambazau (rtd), the Nigerian prisons have for a long time suffered congestion of inmates due to lack of vehicles to transport some of them to ?the court for hearing of the cases against them.

According to Dambazzau, 75% of an estimated 65,000 inmates in Nigerian prisons are mostly awaiting trial and due to unavailability of vehicles to transport them to the courts for trial, some of them have been in prison longer than they should.

Riot, Attempted Jailbreak At Kuje Prison

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A riot broke out at the Kuje Medium Prison located in Kuje on the outskirts of Abuja on Monday morning with prisons officials barely settling down for official duties. A top prison official was quoted as saying that the crisis broke at about 10.30am from one of the blocks and spread to other blocks within the facility. As at the time of filing this report, the official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media said security operatives were already on ground to quell the uprising while it was still uncertain if any inmate had escaped.the situation is chaotic as all roads leading to the prisons have been cordoned off while heavily armed security operatives could be seen with sirens blaring.

“There is heavy shooting now. The whole place is in confusion. All the inmates have been locked in their cells but the security operatives are shooting teargas into the cells,” the source said. “We don’t know what happened but it seems there is serious trouble here. There are so many armed security operatives all over the place.” Spokesperson of the Nigerian Prison Service, Francis Enobore, confirmed the incident. “We have received report of a problem in Kuje Prision but give me a little time to get the facts on it as some of our men are already on ground to handle the situation,” he said.

 “We are monitoring what is happening. I will revert to you as soon we get more detail from our men on the ground.” On June 25 there was a jailbreak at the prisons with about three inmates escaping and it is still unclear if they were recaptured.

Obama Pardons And Shortens Terms For 214 Prisoners; 67 Had Life Sentence

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US President Obama commuted the sentences of 214 federal prisoners Wednesday, the largest single-day grant of commutations in the nation’s history.  He has 562 total commutations during his presidency — most of which have come in the past year . Obama has now used his constitutional clemency power to shorten the sentences of more federal inmates than 9 past presidents combined.
The early release of the 214 prisoners, mostly low-level drug offenders and non violent offenders, is part of Obama’s effort to correct what he views as unreasonably long mandatory minimum sentences to those inmates. Some date back decades, including 71-year-old Richard L. Reser of Sedgwick, Kan., who was given a 40-year sentence for dealing methamphatamine and firearm possession in
1989. He’ll be released Dec. 1.

Obama said in a Facebook post:

“The more we understand the human stories behind this problem, the sooner we can start making real changes that keep our streets safe, break the cycle of incarceration in this country, and save taxpayers like you money,”

The president’s clemency power usually takes one of two forms: Pardons, which give offenders a full legal forgiveness for their crimes, and commutations, which shorten prison sentences but often leave other conditions intact. Many of those granted commutations Wednesday will remain under court supervision even after release.

He shared a letter he received from a prisoner he pardoned and wrote on FB:

few months ago, I received this letter from a Floridian named Sherman Chester.


 

When Sherman was a young man, he wrote, he made some bad choices, got in over his head, and ended up with a life sentence without parole for a nonviolent drug charge. At Sherman’s sentencing, even the judge couldn’t believe he was bound by law to hand down a punishment that didn’t fit the crime.

We know that Sherman…‘s story is all too common in this country — a country that imprisons its citizens at a rate far higher than any other. Too many men and women end up in a criminal justice system that serves up excessive punishments, especially for nonviolent drug offenses.

But this is a country that believes in second chances. So we’ve got to make sure that our criminal justice system works for everyone. We’ve got to make sure that it keeps our streets safe while also making sure that an entire class of people like Sherman isn’t relegated to a life on the margins.

 Last year, after he served more than 20 long years in prison, I commuted Sherman’s sentence and those of many others who were serving unjust and outdated prison sentences.

 And today, I’m commuting the sentences of an additional 214 men and women who are just as deserving of a second chance. Altogether, I’ve commuted more sentences than the past nine presidents combined, and I am not done yet.

These acts of clemency are important steps for families like Sherman’s and steer our country in a better direction, but they alone won’t fix our criminal justice system. We need Congress to pass meaningful federal sentencing reform that will allow us to more effectively use taxpayer dollars to protect the public.

I hope you’ll take a minute to read and share Sherman’s letter. The more we understand the human stories behind this problem, the sooner we can start making real changes that keep our streets safe, break the cycle of incarceration in this country, and save taxpayers like you money.

 

Jailbreaks: Officials Will Be Sanctioned – Dambazau

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The Federal Government has threatened to sanction prison officers found culpable in cases of jailbreaks.

 

It warned that officers involved in negligence, dereliction of duty and absenteeism would be severely punished.

 

Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), who gave the warning during a meeting with senior prison service officers at the Nigeria Prisons Service headquarters in Abuja yesterday, admitted that most of the prisons were weak structures of 100 years.

 

Dambazau, who noted with regrets last Saturday’s jailbreak at Koton-Karfe Prison, Kogi State, in which 13 inmates escaped and the escape of two detainees at Kuje Prison, Abuja, in June, said that there were certain precautions and routines prison officials could take to prevent jailbreaks.

 

He said: “We don’t want such incidences to repeat again. Those who are comptrollers, take time to go round your prisons. Don’t sit in your office. The prison is very important in the justice system. Take your jobs very seriously. This is something that the administration will not tolerate. You have to be up and doing.”

Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General, who disclosed that seven of the escapee prisoners from the Koton-Karfe Prisons have been re-arrested, said: “We are still searching and we are hoping to get all of them back.

 

“For every escape that occurs, there must be one thing or the other that the prison officers have not done and that comes to negligence of duty. For that case, there was also negligence.

 

“But in addition, as the minister has said, it is also a structure problem we and people in that prison hope to address.

 

“I inherited that structural problem and I intend to solve it this year, and to the subsequent budgets so that the entire buildings within the prisons system in Nigeria will change henceforth so that those structural problems will be addressed.”

 

In another development, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on the Federal Government to relocate the prison in Kaduna, which is located in the heart of the city, away from urban areas in view of security threats.

 

El-Rufai, who stated this when the minister visited him in his office, pledged his support to the various paramilitary agencies in the state, noting that the state enjoys co-operation from them.

FG To Equip Prisons With CCTVs Over Recent Jailbreaks

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Irked by the recent attacks on the Kuje and Koton Karfe Medium Prisons, the Federal Government has announced plans to equip its prisons formations with Closed Circuit Television Cameras CCTV for enhanced surveillance.

Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd) stated this Tuesday in Abuja while addressing top officials of the Nigerian Prisons Service at a meeting described by participants as “soul-searching”.

He equally read the riot act to personnel who shirk in their responsibilities saying while the federal government has a duty to provide prisons facilities and train the personnel, the service must be active at all times. “I know the significance of the prisons service as the custodian of all categories of inmates whether convicted or awaiting trial, low or high-profile. You also have the responsibility to rehabilitate those in custody.

“That is why we are having this meeting to tackle the incessant problem of prison break. In the last two months, we have had two incidents. I believe that this is not good news at all. So, we have to find ways of dealing with them.

“First, I am aware that quiet a number of prisons have structural problems, even the most recent ones are not constructed according to standard. Secondly, I am also aware that most of the prison are old. Some, over a century like the Kano prisons. I am also aware that the inmates have increased and the prison shave not been expanded.”

Credit: Vanguard

Kuje Prison Inmates Jubilate As Badeh Joins Them; Rejects Prison Food

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The presence of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal, Alex Badeh (retd.) in Kuje Prison, Abuja, has generated excitement and curiosity among the inmates.

It was learnt that the inmates were amazed to see the former military chief in prison custody barely one year after his image loomed large across the nation.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the former CDS rejected food from the prison and opted to feed himself pending the time he would perfect his bail conditions.

It was learnt that Badeh was keeping a low profile in prison custody. A source said on getting to
prison, his bio-data and other important details were taken before he was escorted to the prison officer’s office and allocated a cell.

He was said to have opted to feed himself, an indulgence that is granted all awaiting trial inmates.

“An inmate can reject prison food and sign for self-feeding, meaning he would provide his own food, his family members and friends can bring food for him daily, subject to the approval of the prison authorities,” an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

It was learnt that Badeh’s rejection of the prison food may not be unconnected with the poor quality of the food served inmates in Nigerian prisons.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Peter Ezenwa amazed the nation last month when he said that a paltry sum of N222.30k was budgeted by the service to feed each inmate per day.

Ezenwa who stated this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Interior to defend the Prison Service’s 2016 budget warned of a possible revolt if things continued this way.

He stated that the service made a proposal of N10.6 billion for the feeding allowance of 65,000 inmates, but that the Federal Government slashed it to N5.2 billion.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Usman Nafada however contended that each inmate was being fed on N130 per day.

“N200 per inmate per day is unacceptable. If you look at it, you are actually feeding each inmate with N130 per day. When you remove Value Added Tax, contractors’ profit and other corporate services, the N200 comes to about N130 to feed one inmate in a day. It is inhuman to feed a human being with N130 per day. What can anybody use N130 to buy? With N130, no inmate can come out of the prison better,” he said.

The NPS Public Relations Officer, Francis Enobore, could not be reached for comments on how Badeh is taking prison life, as he did not respond to telephone calls and an SMS sent to him.

Badeh was remanded in prison custody on March 7 by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, following his arraignment along with a company, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering.

The judge had last Thursday granted Badeh bail in the sum of N2bn, which is to be guaranteed by two sureties in the sum of N1bn each.

Among other bail conditions imposed on Badeh, the judge ordered the ex-CDS to deposit both his blue and green passports with the court throughout the period of his trial.

Meanwhile, a lawyer to the former CDS, Mr. Samuel Zibiri (SAN), told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday that the two sureties the court mandated his client to produce had been secured and their details as well as the Certificates of Occupancy for their respective landed assets had been forwarded to the Chief Registrar for verification.

He said the ex-CDS should be out of prison by Monday.

Source: Punch

EFCC Arraigns Man Over N57.7m Fraud

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, February 11, arraigned one Robert Daniel Onyeani before Justice E. N. Anyadike of the Federal High Court of Umuahia, Abia State on a four-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence and issuance of dud cheque to the tune of N57, 704,000.00 (Fifty-Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Four Thousand Naira).

Onyeani, Chief Executive of Imagine Roco Limited, sometime in November, 2013, allegedly presented himself to the complainant as a member of a seven-man Presidential Committee on Import
Duties Concession and Waiver of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment, Abuja.
The 53-year-old accused person also allegedly demanded the sum of N178, 000,000 (one hundred and seventy-eight million naira) from the complainant, promising that he could procure import duties waiver/concession certificate for importation of stock fish.

However, the accused person, after collecting the sum of N57,704,000.000 (fifty-seven million, seven hundred and four thousand naira) from the complainant, became elusive.
When the petitioner requested for refund, the accused person was said to have issued some cheques, which were not honoured due to insufficient fund in his account.

One of the counts reads:

‘‘That you, Robert Daniel Onyeani, CEO of Imagine Roco Ltd, on or about the 26th day of November, 2013 at Aba within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria obtained the sum of N20,000,000.00 (twenty million naira) from one Chinemeya Iheaku of G.N. Iheaku & Co. Ltd under the false pretence that you can procure a certificate of concession/waiver on the importation of stockfish/fish head, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.’’

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him. In view of his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Joshua Saidu, asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand the accused person in prison custody. The defence counsel, O. Emole, however, moved an application for bail on behalf of his client.

Consequently, Justice Anyadike adjourned the matter to February 16 for hearing  on the bail application and ordered the accused person to be remanded in prison custody.

Israel Jails Former Prime Minister For Receiving Bribe

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been ordered to serve 18 months in jail for bribery. Olmert had been sentenced to six years by a lower court in 2014, but this has now been reduced by the Supreme Court.

The 70-year-old was convicted over a property deal that took place while he served as mayor of Jerusalem, prior to becoming prime minister in 2006.

Olmert, who stepped down in 2009, will become the first former Israeli head of government to go to prison. He is due to begin his sentence on 15 February.

 

The Supreme Court acquitted Olmert of receiving a 500,000-shekel ($130,000; £86,000) bribe from the developers of Holyland, a controversial block of flats in Jerusalem, after he appealed against the March 2014 conviction.

A separate conviction of illicitly taking a 60,000-shekel payment for another project was upheld.

Several other government officials and businesspeople were convicted alongside Olmert in 2014.

In a separate case, Olmert was sentenced earlier this year to eight months in prison for fraud and breach of trust for accepting illegal payments from an American businessman.

Nigerian Prisons Deny Rumoured Death Of Charles Okah

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The Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) had denied the rumoured death of the alleged mastermind of the October 1, 2010 Independence Day bombing, Charles Okah.

 

This is contained in a press release by the Prisons Public Relations Officer, DCP Enobore Francis, on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.

The statement read, “This is to officially respond to numerous media enquiries over the rumoured death of Mr. Charles Okah in prison custody.

“We wish to categorically state and clarify that Mr. Charles Okah is not dead but alive, hale and hearty under the safe custody of the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS).

“The rumour has no iota of truth and therefore should be discountenanced.”

There were reports of a mild drama at the Federal High Court in Abuja as Mr Charles Okah threatened to end his trial when he attempted to take his life.

Okah, who is standing trial for terrorism, reportedly sought the permission of the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, to air his views over what he termed “endless trial”, due to his lawyer’s absence in court.

Charles Okah, who expressed frustration about the endless trial, ended his emotional statement after about five minutes, reached for a chair in the court and quickly moved towards a window but was overpowered by lawyers and other litigants who prevented him from breaking the louvers.

US President Obama Reduces Sentences Of 46 Convicts

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President Barack Obama cut the prison sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders on Monday, including 14 who were sentenced to life in prison, saying “their punishments didn’t fit the crime.”
“These men and women were not hardened criminals,” Obama said in a video released by the White House, noting that the overwhelming majority of the 46 had been sentenced to at least 20 years.

The move was part of a broader ongoing effort by the administration to make the U.S. criminal justice system fairer. Obama has now issued 89 commutations during his presidency, most of them to non-violent offenders sentenced for drug crimes under outdated sentencing guidelines. A
commutation leaves the conviction in place, but reduces the punishment.

Obama wrote a personal letter to each of the 46 individuals to notify them of their commutations. Their sentences all now expire on Nov. 10, 2015.

In a letter to Jerry Bailey, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to violate laws against crack-cocaine, Obama praised Bailey for showing the potential to turn his life around.

“Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity,” Obama wrote in the letter, which was sent to Bailey’s address at a federal correctional facility in Georgia,. “It will not be easy,” Obama said, “and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change.”

Obama’s lawyer, White House counsel Neil Eggleston, predicted the president would issue even more commutations before leaving office in early 2017. But he also said that Obama’s powers to fix the problem were limited, adding that “clemency alone will not fix decades of overly punitive sentencing policies.”

Obama this week is devoting considerable attention to the criminal justice system. He plans to lay out ideas for how to improve the fairness of the system during a speech to the NAACP in Philadelphia on Tuesday. And on Thursday, he is to become the first sitting president to visit a federal prison when he goes to the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City. While there, he will meet with law enforcement officials and inmates.

Obama said that after his commutations, there is still “a lot more we can do to restore the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system.”

Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a group seeking changes in sentencing, said the organization was “thrilled to see that more folks serving excessively long sentences for non-violent drug offenses are going home.”

“But they’re leaving behind many equally deserving people,” she said, “so let’s keep these commutations coming, while remembering that clemency is a tool made necessary by our failure to reform mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Congress simply can’t act fast enough.”

The 46 sentence reductions announced Monday are the most presidential commutations in a single day since the Lyndon Johnson administration in the 1960s.

Obama has commuted the sentences of 89 people, surpassing the combined number of commutations

FNC granted by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Buhari Directs Governors To Decongest Prisons

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President Muhammadu Buhari has directed state governors across the country to ensure the reduction of the number of prison inmates in their various states.

Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai, who disclosed this while on a working visit to the Kaduna convict prison, said the president’s directive was in the spirit of decongesting the prisons across the country.

El-Rufai said, “Our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed all governors to visit prisons and ensure that we reduce to the barest minimum those that have spent many years awaiting trial in our courts.

“It is injustice for a person to be kept for a long time in the name of awaiting trial. This is why President Buhari directed all governors to undertake such visits so that, working together with the Ministry of Justices and the Prison authorities, we’ll ensure we do something about it.”

He assured that the state government, despite its financial challenges, would do its best to ensure that the people prison for wrong reasons and are awaiting trial get justice.

Receiving the governor, the state controller of prison, Mr. Abubakar Garba, noted that the convict prison, established in 1915 with the capacity of 547, is now housing over 1,000 inmates.

Disclosing that about 114 inmates were condemned criminals, with 11 of them citizens of Kaduna State, he appealed to the governor to commute the death sentences of 11 inmates of Kaduna State origin to life imprisonment. He also revealed that the prison had only two functional vans for conveying about 800 awaiting trial inmates, which he said, portends danger to people of the state.

Credit: leadership